All-Human
- - - - .}} Elohim is a word in the , which sometimes means in the plural, and elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, the word refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the . The word is identical to the usual form of the word , which means gods or magistrates, and it is to the word l-h-m which is found in , where it is used as the pantheon for , the children of El, and conventionally vocalized as "Elohim". Most uses of the term Elohim in the later Hebrew text imply a view that is at least at the time of writing, and such usage (in the singular), as a proper title for the supreme deity, is generally not considered to be synonymous with the term elohim, "gods" (plural, simple noun). Rabbinic scholar wrote that the various other usages are commonly understood to be s. The notion of divinity underwent radical changes in the early period of identity and development of . The ambiguity of the term elohim is the result of such changes, cast in terms of "vertical translatability", i.e. the re-interpretation of the gods of the earliest recalled period as the of as it emerged in the 7th to 6th century BCE in the and during the , and further in terms of by the emergence of in the 2nd century CE. Canaanite religion The word el (singular) is a standard term for "god" in Aramaic, paleo-Hebrew, and other related Semitic languages including Ugaritic. The of gods was known as ilhm'', the Ugaritic equivalent to elohim. For instance, in the Ugaritic we read of "seventy sons of ". Each "son of god" was held to be the originating deity for a particular people. ( 2 1.4.VI.46). Usage Elohim occurs frequently throughout the Torah. In some cases (e.g. Exodus 3:4, "Elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush ..."), it behaves like a singular noun in Hebrew grammar, and is then generally understood to denote the single God of Israel. In other cases, Elohim acts as an ordinary plural of the word Eloah, and refers to the notion of multiple gods (for example, Exodus 20:3, "You shall have no other before me"). The word Elohim occurs more than 2500 times in the , with meanings ranging from "gods" in a general sense (as in Exodus 12:12, where it describes "the gods of Egypt"), to specific gods (e.g., 1 Kings 11:33, where it describes "the god of Moab", or the frequent references to as the "elohim" of Israel), to demons, , and other supernatural beings, to the brought up at the behest of in 1 Samuel 28:13, and even to kings and prophets (e.g., Exodus 4:16). The phrase , translated "sons of the Gods", has an exact parallel in ic and n texts, referring to the council of the gods. Elohim occupy the seventh rank of ten in the famous medieval rabbinic scholar ' . Maimonides said: "I must premise that every Hebrew now knows that the term Elohim is a homonym, and denotes God, angels, judges, and the rulers of countries, ..." With plural verb In , elohim is used with a plural verb. The told Saul that she saw elohim ascending (olim , plural verb) out of the earth. In , Abraham, before the polytheistic Philistine king , says that "Elohim (translated as God) caused ( , plural verb) me to wander". Whereas the Greek (LXX) has a singular verb form (ἐξήγαγε(ν), aorist II), most English versions usually translate this as "God caused" (which does not distinguish between a singular and plural verb). With singular verb Elohim, when meaning the God of Israel, is mostly grammatically singular, and is commonly translated as "God", and capitalised. For example, in , it is written: "Then Elohim (translated as God) said (singular verb), 'Let us (plural) make (plural verb) man in our (plural) image, after our (plural) likeness . and other Hebrew grammarians traditionally described this as the (plural of excellence), which is similar to the (plural of majesty, or "Royal we"). Gesenius comments that Elohim singular is to be distinguished from elohim plural gods and remarks that: (usually taken in the sense of ), the image of a god, used especially for obtaining oracles. Certainly in 1 Samuel 19:13, 16 only one image is intended; in most other places a single image may be intended; in Zechariah 10:2 alone is it most naturally taken as a numerical plural. }} There are a number of notable exceptions to the rule that Elohim is treated as singular when referring to the God of Israel, including Gen. 20:13, 35:7, 2 Sam. 7:23 and Ps. 58:11, and notably the epithet of the "Living God" (Deuteronomy 5:26 etc.), which is constructed with the plural adjective, Elohim Hayiym but still takes singular verbs. In the and translations, Elohim has the singular even in these cases, and modern translations follow suit in giving " " in the singular. The has edited out some of these exceptions. Angels and judges In a few cases in the Greek Septuagint (LXX), Hebrew elohim with a plural verb, or with implied plural context, was rendered either angeloi ("angels") or to kriterion tou Theou ("the judgement of God"). These passages then entered first the Latin , then the English (KJV) as "angels" and "judges", respectively. From this came the result that James Strong, for example, listed "angels" and "judges" as possible meanings for elohim with a plural verb in his , and the same is true of many other 17th-20th century reference works. Both Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon and the Lexicon list both angels and judges as possible alternative meanings of elohim with plural verbs and adjectives. The reliability of the Septuagint translation in this matter has been questioned by Gesenius and . In the case of Gesenius, he lists the meaning without agreeing with it. Hengstenberg stated that the Hebrew Bible text never uses elohim to refer to "angels", but that the Septuagint translators refused the references to "gods" in the verses they amended to "angels". The Greek New Testament (NT) quotes Psalm 8:4-6 in Hebrews 2:6b-8a, where the Greek NT has "ἀγγέλους" (angelous) in vs. 7, quoting Ps. 8:5 (8:6 in the LXX), which also has "ἀγγέλους" in a version of the Greek Septuagint. In the KJV, elohim (Strong's number H430) is translated as "angels" only in Psalm 8:5. The KJV translates elohim as "judges" in Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:8; and twice in Exodus 22:9. Angels and Fallen angels cited in the Hebrew Bible and external literature contain the related noun el (אֵל) such as , and . Ambiguous readings Sometimes when elohim occurs as the referent or (i.e. not the ) of a sentence, and without any accompanying verb or adjective to indicate plurality, it may be grammatically unclear whether gods plural or God singular is intended. An example is Psalm 8:5 where "Yet you have made him a little lower than the elohim" is ambiguous as to whether "lower than the gods" or "lower than God" is intended. The Septuagint read this as "gods" and then "corrected" the translation to "angels", which reading is taken up by the New Testament in Hebrews 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." ( ) Another example is in Genesis 3:5 where the KJV says: "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as '''gods, knowing good and evil." But the NASB (1995) has ""For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."" While the NET version says "divine beings". Other plural-singulars in biblical Hebrew The has several nouns with ''-im'' (masculine plural) and ''-oth'' (feminine plural) endings which nevertheless take singular verbs, adjectives and pronouns. For example, im, im, . This form is known as the "honorific plural", in which the pluralization is a sign of power or honor. Alternatively, there are several other frequently used words in the Hebrew language that contain a masculine plural ending but also maintain this form in singular concept. The major examples are: Water (מים - mayim),'' Sky/Heavens (שמים - ''shamayim), Face (פנים - panim), Life (חיים - chayyim). Of these four nouns, three appear in the first sentence of Genesis (along with elohim). All four of these nouns appears in, the first sentence of the Eden creation story (also along with elohim).'' Instead of "honorific plural" these other plural nouns terms represent something which is constantly changing. Water, sky, face, life are "things which are never bound to one form." Jacob's ladder "gods were revealed" (plural) In the following verses ''Elohim was translated as God singular in the King James Version even though it was accompanied by plural verbs and other plural grammatical terms. }} Here the Hebrew verb "revealed" is plural, hence: "the gods were revealed". An Bible note claims that the wrongly translates: "God appeared unto him". This is one of several instances where the Bible uses plural verbs with the name elohim. The Divine Council Marti Steussy, in Chalice Introduction to the Old Testament, discusses: "The first verse of Psalm 82: 'Elohim has taken his place in the divine council.' Here elohim has a singular verb and clearly refers to God. But in verse 6 of the Psalm, God says to the other members of the council, 'You plural are elohim.' Here elohim has to mean gods." Mark Smith, referring to this same Psalm, states in God in Translation: "This psalm presents a scene of the gods meeting together in divine council ... Elohim stands in the council of El. Among the elohim he pronounces judgment: ..." In Hulsean Lectures for..., H. M. Stephenson discussed Jesus' argument in concerning Psalm 82. (In answer to the charge of blasphemy Jesus replied:) "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods. If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" – "Now what is the force of this quotation 'I said ye are gods.' It is from the Asaph Psalm which begins 'Elohim hath taken His place in the mighty assembly. In the midst of the Elohim He is judging. Sons of God The Hebrew word for " " is ben; plural is bānim (with the form being "benei"). The Hebrew term benei elohim (" " or "sons of the gods") in compares to the use of "sons of gods" (Ugaritic: b'n il) sons of in . states that gods can be referred to collectively as bene elim, bene elyon, or bene elohim. Elohist The uses various names for God. According to the these variations are the products of different source texts: Elohim is the name of God in the and sources, while is used in the (J) source. postulates the differences of names may be the result of geographical origins; the P and E sources coming from the North and J from the South. There may be a theological point, that God did not reveal his name, Yahweh, before the time of , though showed that the Jahwist was aware of the prophetic books from the 7th and 8th centuries BCE. J presents Yahweh : for example, walking through the Garden of Eden looking for Adam and Eve. The Elohist often presents Elohim as more distant and frequently involves s, as in the Elohist version of the tale of , in which there is a ladder to the clouds, with angels climbing up and down, with Elohim at the top. In the Jahwist tale, Yahweh is simply stationed in the sky, above the clouds without the ladder or angels. Likewise, the Elohist describes The classical , first developed in the late 19th century CE among , holds that the Elohist portions of the were composed in the 9th century BCE (i.e. during the early period of the ). This, however, is not universally accepted as seems to show evidence of a later "Elohist redaction" ( ) during the 5th century BCE which sometimes makes it difficult to determine whether a given passage is "Elohist" in origin, or the result of a later editor. References Category:Mythology